


Mates

by Amwhimsical



Category: Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadow Puppets
Genre: Alex slowly falls in love with Miles, M/M, One Shot, RPF, Translation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 17:06:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15867966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amwhimsical/pseuds/Amwhimsical
Summary: He had never thought of their relationship as a simple friendship.





	Mates

**Author's Note:**

> Before the story, a little note: **this work is merely a translation.**  
>  The original version was written by **nightswimming** and can be found here. You can find links to the author’s twitter and livejournal on the same site, though I haven’t been able to contact her.  
>  The thing is, I love this fanfiction so freaking much. I have it in my saved pages on every phone I own, and I always read it when I get dem Milex feels.  
> Since I am studying to become a translator, this is also a challenge to myself. I hope I won't mess this up.

_ No regard for the cost _

_ Of saying his feelings _

_ In the moment they were felt. _

Miles laughs a lot, even when, apparently, there’s no reason behind it – or better, not quite an obvious one. It’s just one of his many ways of displaying his self-confidence, which sometimes borders on arrogance.  
Shortly before meeting him, someone had told Alex about this side of him; or maybe it was more accurate to say that he had been warned.  
«Kane’s alright», he had been told by that someone who he didn’t remember at all, «He’s alright but after a while, he may come off as irritating. You know, he takes for granted that everything he talks about is interesting – he’s convinced that people like him from the start. Uh, and he plays the guitar too, like you. Quite decently.»  
He had immediately imagined some talentless, egoistical wannabe diva. A fan of the Beatles’ B-sides who only wore shirts ironed by his mother. Instead, simply shaking his hand had been enough to tell that he liked his manners (even though they were different from his own), his taste in music (and that definitely was the same as his own), his face (even though it looked weird, long, vaguely cartoonish) and that he wasn’t a decent guitar player, but an amazing one, and he had such confidence on stage he could only dream of.  
He also felt that his budding adoration was reciprocated. He – who only trusted and hung out with his childhood friends – found that exciting. He felt like a kid who tried alcohol for the first time, bound to get horribly drunk.

⋆

Miles often spaces out. He starts speaking more slowly, he gets distracted, he looks away. He looks like he’s losing his confidence all of sudden, only to noisily get it back seconds later. He’s lazy and hyperactive at the same time. He loves parties and adores partying, he likes being surrounded by all that noise – and yet, Alex remembers that on more than one occasion he had called him at his house phone in the evening and he had picked up, inviting him over.  
Surely, Alex wouldn’t call himself an easy guy to get along with. He still remembers his aunt who, when he was a child, used unpleasant expressions such as “ _just a little bit more introverted and he’ll turn into a black hole_ ”, and other awful ones such as “ _force him out of his shell_ ”, “ _hang out with different people_ ”, “ _walk, talk, act like a man_ ”. But ever since he met Miles, he started thinking that he must not be so hard to read, after all. His shy and difficult nature became less of an issue. There are times when Miles – and that’s where all his troubles started – can tell what he’s thinking.  
Miles, on the other hand, is an open book most of the times, and this causes him to feel like he’s never been so close to anyone like has been with him. It has gotten to the point where he even appreciates his flaws and contradictions; where he finds his small meanness sweet, aside from – of course, feeling a childish enthusiasm for his good traits.  
Alex knows how stubborn and determined Miles can be, in some situations. He knows how he ponders carefully upon his decisions and acts accordingly; he probably is – and he’s proud of it – the only one who knows how this process tires him out and torments him. He knows how much he likes one-night stands and that he’s also mature enough to desire and maintain a more serious relationship.  
He knows for sure that Miles likes fooling around as much as he likes doing things seriously, even though people around him often don’t see the other side of the coin.  
Last, he knows that with him Miles has never been afraid of doing either one of the two things.

⋆

His mother had met Miles when he had started going on tours with the Arctic Monkeys. Perhaps mindful of that nasty discussion with his aunt, she had told him with her eyes twinkling with relief that his company did him good.  
His mother obviously liked Miles (he wouldn’t have bet a penny on him being the type who is liked by mothers, but it had been proved otherwise), and yet Alex knew that wasn’t the only reason she had told him that. Being with him was more than enjoyable and amusing: it was calming and exciting at the same time. It was comforting, but with a burst of energy. It made him feel confident, cheerful, and oddly eager to work – and his mother had noticed. Matt, Jamie and Nick did too. And Alexa. And their tour manager. And the hair stylist, the sound technicians, their producers, their fans – and the press, of course: whenever they saw them together, they poked at them with suggestive comments. To sum it up, whoever had a pair of eyes had noticed.  
It didn’t bother Miles. On the contrary, he seemed to be not so secretly satisfied about it, so Alex decided he should feel the same. Then again, he was too happy about how things were going to even think of ruining it with his anxieties.

⋆

He had always thought of their relationship as a mutual understanding; an absolute, close chemistry. One was able to reach out to the other so easily, both physically and spiritually. No effort, no reservations, nothing left unsaid. Every moment was special, creative and extremely solid in his memory when compared to the time he spent with others – even with Alexa.  
He had never thought of their relationship as a simple friendship. The term seemed reductive, right from the beginning. He knew who his friends were, and Miles wasn’t part of that category; he bordered on another one, an ambiguous, hard to describe one, and he was the only one who could ever be part of it.  
Since – among the other things – they were bandmates, the term often popped up during interviews or whenever people described them – and he liked it a lot. Mates.  
Ironically, he would only think of how hard labelling their relationship was much later.

⋆

Neither of them could complain about their own success with women. They respected each other to the point where one assumed that women went crazy over the other.  
Alex found Miles’ way of flirting hilarious, or better, the most hilarious part was the lack of any kind of courting. He made everything look so damn easy. He had found himself saying aloud that there was nothing innocent about Miles, and that it all went to his advantage.  
His first doubts arose as soon as those words had left his lips. Was Miles really like that? Yes. To others. To _other women_ , to be exact. But to him?  
To him he was just like a brother, without the inconveniences brought about by actually being blood related.  
At that moment, Alex realized that there was a side of Miles that would never be meant for him, unavoidably. And the thought saddened him.  
It _saddened_ him in a painful way, and the shock of that realization was huge.

⋆

First was the stage of denial. Many “noes” crowded his mind.  
_No, he’s a man. No, he’s a friend, a mate, a colleague. No, it’s wrong. No, Alexa. No, I’ve never wanted this from someone not wearing a skirt. No, it’s Miles, the same old Miles, come on, what’s wrong with you?_  
He tried hard to find him ugly, to force himself into feeling disgusted about his eventual fantasies about him. Miles had a face that was out of the ordinary, he had noticed it as soon as he had met him; but hell, he had always found it interesting.  
It was grotesquely expressive. It looked funny, odd and fascinating at the same time – come on, it was his face! He had memorized it perfectly. It had become so familiar, by then, and that felt so pleasant...  
Miles’ body was slim, like his own: another one of his features that he secretly appreciated. It was proof of their compatibility. He never judged by appearances, but it certainly was one of the many things that had generated his predilection towards everything Miles Kane was. His body looked unusual, somehow, but also defined with extreme precision – the same precision that Alex’s memories of him held. It was surprising how he could trace the shape of Miles’ body purely by relying on the images in his head.  
He had never thought about it, and yet there he was, etched in his memory. And Alex found himself eager to know more about it.

⋆

To those who told him that there was a strange tension between them and that Miles did nothing but stare at him, touch him, and talk to him in a way that wasn’t befitting of two adult, heterosexual men, he always replied vaguely.  
“We spend a lot of time together”, or “we’re like a married couple – try recording an album and living together for weeks”, or “funny, isn’t it?”  
Well, Alex no longer found it funny. Before, every touch, look or smile melted into the harmony of a peaceful relationship, but now they all had become needles that made him jump, that caused him shock and – Jesus Christ – even arousal. His instinctive reaction was to slowly withdraw from his attentions, and Miles noticed right away.  
He didn’t say anything only because he knew that his relationship with Alexa was decaying, and the last thing he wanted was to cause his friend more trouble. It was a phase, it would pass and things were going to go back to the way they were before – even if it was frustrating. Even if it hurt.  
He changed his mind when, one day, Alex wriggled out of his hug, almost looking scared. Miles could accept Alex temporarily being far away from him with his mind, but he couldn’t bear with his refusal of physical contact. It was unacceptable, and it cut down all his hopes.

⋆

Alex instantly knew he had crossed the threshold of comfort, tranquility and all of those placid and familiar feelings that had been theirs.  
He felt his heart hammering in his chest out of fear. Miles was looking at him, angry and disbelieving.  
«What’s wrong?» He curtly asked. Straight to the point.  
Alex took a step back and Miles’ eyes widened. His arms were parted – just like earlier, when he had approached him to hug him and he had slipped away.  
«Alex, what’s wrong?» Now he really sounded mad. «What the fuck is wrong with you? Tell me, we can talk it out.»  
«There’s nothing wrong.» He flatly replied. He wanted to buy time – but above all, he wanted to muster up courage.  
«Al, listen, I know it’s a bad time with Alexa and everything, but this doesn’t give you the right to snap like that. I’m not sick.»  
Alex lifted his gaze to look at him again, his lips tightly pressed into a line. Miles looked hurt; _he_ had hurt him. His spontaneous guilt and sadness couldn’t prevail over the huge sense of satisfaction he felt upon seeing the power he had over him.  
It was unfair but it made him feel good. That kind of stupid joy couldn’t exist in friendship. It’s despicable, and it boosts one’s confidence. It’s the pleasure of having charmed someone. And that was exactly the kind of excitement Alex needed.  
With one step, he covered the distance that he had just a little earlier created between them. He hugged Miles, hard, and he kissed him, softly, because the feeling of his lips against his own was like being hit by a train. It made him dizzy. He squeezed his eyes shut, and he knew for sure that – and it was amazing how their chemistry was still there, even now that their relationship had become unbalanced – Miles was doing the same.  
_It’s his fault, in a way_ , he cowardly thought when Miles stayed still and didn’t react. _All his fault_.  
He heard him hold back a sigh, his lips parted.  
_Actually, no_.  
Miles slowly opened his eyes.  
If Miles had kept them open, those eyes, and if he had continued looking at him as if he had just done something reckless, forbidden, risky, and terribly intriguing – like starting a fire –, Alex could have listed all of the reasons why it was all Miles Kane’s fault.  
But Miles had shut his eyes again and he had reciprocated the kiss. And Alex couldn’t think of anything else.


End file.
